Sheldon Ewell, a church patriarch and volunteer, said the group does everything from painting restrooms to cleaning up vacant lots.

“As a matter of fact, we’re doing that today.”

Target areas were Perris Hill Park, the 215 Freeway on-ramps and off-ramps at University Parkway, and the corner of Base Line and California Street.

The Helping Hands event is part of a nationwide “Day of Service” project to go to work for the improvement of the communities in which church members live.

On Saturday, the focus was California and Hawaii, said Chris Fisher, who worked at Perris Hill Park.

“This is our service. We believe as Christians, this is what we do – make it better where we live. This is a united effort, but on an individual basis it’s community service all the time. It’s what we believe,” Fisher said.

Kirk Garvin, stake president, said the service project is in its fourth year.

Ten wards, the equivalent of 10 congregations, participated in the project.

“In our San Bernardino stake, there are 10 local wards, in addition to three wards in the San Bernardino Mountains that are working today,” he said.

Dental technician Will Williamson helped dig out dirt built up as runoff from the rain.

Lance Durr, who raked and gathered up debris, said everybody needs to contribute.

“It’s part of being involved instead of just talking about it,” said Durr, a Stater Bros. employee and member of the city planning commission.

Kumiko Eastwood, of the Young Women’s program, cleaned trash and pulled weeds from the children’s playground, along with Olivia Hassell and Katelyn Johnson, both 16.

Eliseo Carreon, a bishop in the Spanish-speaking ward, Rancho San Bernardino, on Pacific Avenue, was removing graffiti, paint roller in hand.

“Removing the graffiti makes it look like a place families want to come to. For the city, it’s expensive, and now, with the cuts we have, families don’t feel secure.”

In Redlands, an estimated 2,000 “Day of Service” volunteers came out to paint benches and repair the roof of the landmark Redlands Bowl, and landscape the Redlands Boulevard median between Fern and Ford streets.

The service day was part of the statewide Mormon Helping Hands day of service, which included an estimated 70,000 church volunteers.

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